A Message to Canucks Fans Everywhere

Last night at the Ducks game there was a fight. Now was this any ordinary fight on the street between a Canucks fan and a Ducks fan I wouldn’t care. This was in GM Place and a few realizations have me irked at the whole situation.

Yesterday on my twitter “#Canucks” feed I noticed this tweet from a Melissa Rondpre saying “going to my first hockey game tonight! woo go canucks <3"
Now I don't know Melissa, but this morning when monitoring what came up in the Canucks feed I found this video of the fight between the Canucks fan and the Ducks fan:

Now after watching this video several times I noticed that the user who’d uploaded it was MRondpre, none other than Melissa herself. I don’t know Melissa as I mentioned earlier, but there’s something that bothers me about the message that a fan like her gets when they go to a game and this is one of the first real “fan experiences” they have.

Shortly after the fight she tweeted, “just witnessed a fist fight between a canucks fan and a ducks fan. awesome. :]”

Now I enjoy something like this at the hedonistic level, to a degree, and mostly because it’s not happening to me. I wouldn’t want to be that Ducks fan, or the Canucks fan for that matter. I don’t approve of nor do I condone what the Canucks fan did the the Ducks fan. What message are we sending to fans? The Canucks have sold out 298 straight games, but that doesn’t mean it’s the same fans coming every night. The number of new fans at every game is probably fairly high and the message this sends to new fans of the game, of this team is a terrible one.

The fans cheer the Canucks fan after he absolutely decimates the Duck fan, and the walks out of the section a hero. Canucks fans for the most part are a classy group. I’m not taking this moment to bash the fans of other teams. Melissa (according to her YouTube profile) is 19. It might not have phased her or had the same impact on her as it may have had on a younger kid. What message does this give to kids? What happens to the kid who’s in elementary school, he/she takes this back and thinks it’s okay to pick fights with other kids that are fans of other teams?

I’ve seen many a hockey game in a section with fans that are from out of town and in some cases don’t even speak English very well. They hear what an amazing game it is to watch, and in some cases are tourists that hear they have to take in a Canucks game and come for the experience. In one case there was a list made of the top 100 tourist things to do and on that list was taking in a Canucks game. What does this tell out of town visitors about Vancouverites? Do we disregard our good behaviour because the Olympics are over and we don’t have the world on our doorstep?

Think about it fans. We want to set a good example for not only younger generations of fans but new fans of our game, and of the team we love. Lets not make asses of ourselves.

As a Canucks fan, it’s true that Canucks fans have a bad rep. With the ’94 riot in the history books, there’s always at least one big bullet in the critic’s gun. You can’t dodge that one because it was more than just a few guys.

It’s more than likely that the Ducks fan got heckled to start with, because I highly doubt a Ducks fan at the Garage will look for trouble on his own. And the Canucks fan had the upper hand from the get go. You can’t fight UP. So, the Ducks fan was pretty stupid to engage in that fight (if he had a choice).

You can tell the Canucks fan is a total douche. Just his demeanor indicates that he’s of the “trash” variety. But the fact that he had support from the neighboring fans made him feel even better of himself.

But who knows! Maybe it was the Ducks guy who turned around and threw his hot dog (no ketchup or mustard) at the Canucks fan.

As a Canucks fan, it’s true that Canucks fans have a bad rep. With the ’94 riot in the history books, there’s always at least one big bullet in the critic’s gun. You can’t dodge that one because it was more than just a few guys.

It’s more than likely that the Ducks fan got heckled to start with, because I highly doubt a Ducks fan at the Garage will look for trouble on his own. And the Canucks fan had the upper hand from the get go. You can’t fight UP. So, the Ducks fan was pretty stupid to engage in that fight (if he had a choice).

You can tell the Canucks fan is a total douche. Just his demeanor indicates that he’s of the “trash” variety. But the fact that he had support from the neighboring fans made him feel even better of himself.

But who knows! Maybe it was the Ducks guy who turned around and threw his hot dog (no ketchup or mustard) at the Canucks fan.

Your comment shows that you are simply a spoiled ass. Saying “that wouldn’t happen in the lower bowl”. That is one of the most elitist and ignorant comments I have ever heard. There are plenty of fights down there. You think that since you have more money you are more classy, refined or less violent? You are the dumbest person on the face of the earth.

Your comment shows that you are simply a spoiled ass. Saying “that wouldn’t happen in the lower bowl”. That is one of the most elitist and ignorant comments I have ever heard. There are plenty of fights down there. You think that since you have more money you are more classy, refined or less violent? You are the dumbest person on the face of the earth.

That was awesome. The Duck was probably beaking off, and got what he deserved. ahahahahaha I must be evil. No, just trying to level the comment field. I approve suckas get over it. That bird shoulda ducked more or taken flight outta there. Stupid Duck

That was awesome. The Duck was probably beaking off, and got what he deserved. ahahahahaha I must be evil. No, just trying to level the comment field. I approve suckas get over it. That bird shoulda ducked more or taken flight outta there. Stupid Duck

Love how he’s wearing a Hank jersey.. that is not Sedin behaviour? At least wear a damn O’Brien jersey if you’re going to do that.

But in all seriousness, there’s a reason we all stand up when there’s a fight at a Canucks game, on or off the ice. Melissa sure seemed to like it, and I guarantee more than a few people in that section went home and told their buddies how awesome it was that there was a fight in their section.

Yeah, the Canuck fan is probably a prick (most hockey players are), which is why the Bombay fan should’ve just sat in his seat and take it. He obviously wasn’t ready to stand up for himself. Who knows, maybe he started it.

Yeah, it’s probably wrong, but this is what the Slapshot movies have shown us (not the third one, of course). People like to watch fights. You said it yourself their Loaty.

Love how he’s wearing a Hank jersey.. that is not Sedin behaviour? At least wear a damn O’Brien jersey if you’re going to do that.

But in all seriousness, there’s a reason we all stand up when there’s a fight at a Canucks game, on or off the ice. Melissa sure seemed to like it, and I guarantee more than a few people in that section went home and told their buddies how awesome it was that there was a fight in their section.

Yeah, the Canuck fan is probably a prick (most hockey players are), which is why the Bombay fan should’ve just sat in his seat and take it. He obviously wasn’t ready to stand up for himself. Who knows, maybe he started it.

Yeah, it’s probably wrong, but this is what the Slapshot movies have shown us (not the third one, of course). People like to watch fights. You said it yourself their Loaty.

When you put 20,000 people in an arena with alcohol watching a violent game, adrenaline pumping and curses flying, something like this is bound to happen, no?

That is what one commenter said and I agree! None of you know what started the fight, right? Too many are basing their opinions on what the video shows. Well..stop it! You don’t know what all went down.
And it came to fisticuffs..SO WHAT? Go watch curling if you don’t like it. It’s a live hockey game and booze was involved. What do you expect?

When you put 20,000 people in an arena with alcohol watching a violent game, adrenaline pumping and curses flying, something like this is bound to happen, no?

That is what one commenter said and I agree! None of you know what started the fight, right? Too many are basing their opinions on what the video shows. Well..stop it! You don’t know what all went down.
And it came to fisticuffs..SO WHAT? Go watch curling if you don’t like it. It’s a live hockey game and booze was involved. What do you expect?

So overall what should we learn in the aftermath, the security was there and then ran to get help when it looked like they both wanted to fight, they both got kicked out in the end. Some people were cheering it on, but I bet most of the section wasn’t. Personally if I were close I’d try to jump in and stop it after a couple of those punches.. but thats me. I think the biggest problem is the security was to nice to the canucks fan. They should knock out his beer and escort him out faster. Don’t want to make it look like thats ok.

So overall what should we learn in the aftermath, the security was there and then ran to get help when it looked like they both wanted to fight, they both got kicked out in the end. Some people were cheering it on, but I bet most of the section wasn’t. Personally if I were close I’d try to jump in and stop it after a couple of those punches.. but thats me. I think the biggest problem is the security was to nice to the canucks fan. They should knock out his beer and escort him out faster. Don’t want to make it look like thats ok.

Sean: It’s not that black and white, and you know it. Saying that this is simply ‘part of the experience’ isn’t really necessary. Why does it have to be? Because people accept that people are going to get drunk and fight one another. It’s perfectly possible to enjoy some beverages, take in a hockey game, and, you know, cheer on your own team (and joke in a decent way with nearby opponents) without being a jerk about it.

Also, I never said I wanted to live in a world without drunkenness. 🙂 I just think to tacitly accept violence as part of the hockey experience is a pretty bad way of looking at it. There’s a bigger issue within the culture of hockey that we need to take stock of.

Sean: It’s not that black and white, and you know it. Saying that this is simply ‘part of the experience’ isn’t really necessary. Why does it have to be? Because people accept that people are going to get drunk and fight one another. It’s perfectly possible to enjoy some beverages, take in a hockey game, and, you know, cheer on your own team (and joke in a decent way with nearby opponents) without being a jerk about it.

Also, I never said I wanted to live in a world without drunkenness. 🙂 I just think to tacitly accept violence as part of the hockey experience is a pretty bad way of looking at it. There’s a bigger issue within the culture of hockey that we need to take stock of.

Jesus christ, will you idiots listen to yourselves. Bunch a’ fuckin’ Helen Lovejoys. The people decrying this guy probably stand there cheering on Rypien or Hordichuck when they get in a fight on the ice.

Jesus christ, will you idiots listen to yourselves. Bunch a’ fuckin’ Helen Lovejoys. The people decrying this guy probably stand there cheering on Rypien or Hordichuck when they get in a fight on the ice.

I agreed with your post up until the last part when you made that Surrey comment. I, myself, am from Surrey but I still have a great deal of respect for the game and a great believer of good sportsmanship. My neighbourhood’s surrounded by an upright culture. People have good jobs, a high percentage of my of grad class, are University graduates, many with scholarships, good moral, and a lot of people around here KNOW what the definition of respect is. Yet somehow, because we’re from Surrey, we can’t shake off being labelled “trash”. All I’m saying is Surrey’s cleaned up a lot over the years and every city has it’s rougher areas. Why does Surrey get all the bashing? Why aren’t there more people saying, “Wow, 14 and knocked up. Must be from Delta” or “That crackhead should really wander back home to Hastings”? So this Surrey folk here will still attend live games as a Canucks fan but just so you’re wondering, I will not being taking part in any sort of disorderly conduct.

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